I just want him back.

I had been told by mom who works for my uncle who is a veterinarian not to use this stiff because it could cause them to have seizures. I should have listened. But the thing is I just barely put But just a drop of this stuff on my 5 month old kitten. I didn’t think it would hurt him and certainly didn’t think it would kill him! I sat there for a minute after putting it on him and thought to myself “oh god what have I done mom said not to use it” and immediately took him to the bathroom and washed tried washing it off. My first mistake was putting it on him my second was not using soap and rinsing it 3 or 4 times. This kitten was an unexpected addition to our family of already one cat and my one year old son and my husband and I. But never the less he was instantly loved and attached is to him with his sweet cuddles he gave you even when you didn’t want them. He’d get right in your neck and just lay there or lay on your chest or anywhere that you let him. We only had him for 5 months but I have not been able to stop crying since Sunday morning at 2 am when he finally stopped convulsing and breathing. The worst part about it was we had just paid our rent of $400 and didn’t have a penny to our name until the next paycheck. Certainly not the $150 that the animal emergency clinic requires for just walking in their door. And the $350 plus for the valum and fluids that were required to help pass this poison through him. So for 3 hours I sat in my kitchen floor watching him shake and convulsing. He’d have a seizure every 20 minutes. I called my mom immediately with the first sign to ask her what o should do. Which was when my husband and I were watching a movie and we heard what sounded like our cat being attacked and murdered. He was screaming and hissing and on the floor acting like something was attacking him with his paws up and swatting. He was shaking and growling and hissing. I knew exactly was it was because this was what I feared would happen. My mom told me to take him to the tub and wash him again with dawn soap and try and get it off the skin as much as possible. We did about 4 times. She said to check his temp and of he was hot to put alcohol on his feet because if his temperature went up he’d have brain damage. His temp was 104.3 so I did what she said and his temp stayed the same. My husband who always does a lot of research for thongs like this said that everyone who had the same thing happened said they used a syringe to put fluids in them since they didn’t have an IV. So we carefully without drowning him took water and put it on his tongue so that he’d have some fluids going through him in hopes to help flush his system a little quicker. I posted on Facebook what was going on. My friend who works at a vet clinic saw and called me. About 2 hours after it started she told me to meet her at the clinic where she worked and she would put him on fluids. She couldn’t give him a lot of valum because she would get in trouble since the doc was not there. She just made it look like a miscalculation error. She gave him a steroid shot and a shot for pain. We had trouble getting the IV in but we eventually got it in. It was only 15 minutes after we got everything in him and he started to slow down with the convulsions. He had only been peeing when he had his seizures. This time he had a bowel movement. And I could tell this was the end. As soon as he pooped he stopped shaking and starting breathing hard and slow. My friend checked his heart. It was still beating so she thought it may have been the bladder. She checked it and of it was very full. But something still wasn’t right and that’s when he stopped breathing. She got a syringe and checked his abdomen for blood. And there was. It was too late. He was gone. I wasn’t going to cry. Until I looked up at her and I lost it. I haven’t been able to stop since. It all plays over and over in my head. I didn’t mean to kill him. I just wanted to kill the fleas. Its all my fault because I knew that it was a poison. I looked up reviews of the product out of curiosity. Someone mentioned this website. I dont know what it is I’m I’m looking for on here. I know telling my story along with everyone else isn’t going to take the product off the shelf. I know it’s not going to bring my sweet Magwa back. I’m not even looking for sympathy and comfort. I just want it to stop replaying in my head. Maybe if I get it out somewhere on paper or on here it will stop. I have only cried for one other cat this much and this hard in my life and it was my Matilda when I was 10 who was am outside cat and she disappeared one day and never came back. I cried for months. And more than likely she was caught by natures hands. But Magwa was such a sweetheart and just loved everyone and loved to snuggle and he looked at you and you knew that he was saying I love you. I’m thankful my other cat was okay. He only had eye twitches and walked like he was drunk for an hour and a half and he was fine. He didn’t have any seizures. I just want him to walk from our living room and jump on the bed and come lay down on my chest like he always did. I want him back. I want to undo it all. I love you Magwa. I love you so much. I miss you. RIP my sweet baby.

17 thoughts on “I just want him back.”

First off, I want to say I’m VERY sorry for your loss. Secondly, I would like to educate you a bit more on the mistakes made in what you have posted (please read this, its important). You have definitely taken a beating here, loosing a pet is awful. You have also learned an important lesson about the Hartz products and the damage they cause. But I cannot overlook what you typed about not having a penny until your next check. I’m not going to scold you on anything here, as I think you’ve had enough negativity recently. What I will type is that owning a pet is adding another member to your family. Another mouth to feed, doctor bills, toys and so much more. Please be sure you can afford another family member before adding one to your family in the future. You also put that YOU killed Magwa. I need you to know that you did NOT. You trusted in a product that is suppose to provide a prevention against fleas and ticks. You were trying to help your pet. You did not do this, Hartz did. Stay positive, stay strong and give tons of hugs to the people close to you.

Omg I don’t need any of you to tell me how to live my life okay. I clearly stated that I had just paid $400 in rent and that was our budget for that week. My husband makes $2000 a month. We can afford to take care of the animals we have. We didn’t have an emergency fund one time because we just moved and we have had to put a lot of money towards it including the power bill of over $400 that my mother in law was supposed to help us with and left it all on us. If I didn’t think we could not take care of an animal I would not have kept him. I also have connections and don’t have to fret as much particularly with the funds part. live at least I didn’t take him to the pound to have him EUTHANIZED like a lot of assholes do. Thanks for the advice but I didn’t ask for it. Just posting my story so people can see the poison that is allowed to sit on shelves.

Maybe in the future when a VETERINARY PROFESSIONAL tells you something is going to POISON your animal, you will actually listen. You DID kill this cat. You killed it because you didn’t listen to a professional and you didn’t take this cat to the vet before it was practically dead. Don’t take in an animal unless you can pay for an emergency. Period. If you had taken this cat to the shelter, it might actually still be alive.

As I said before, this was a one time thing, I just moved and we had some unexpected and OTHER emergencies that came up. We are not rich, no but I can afford to take care of my fucking animals. See there’s this thing called people get in a rut, and we were in one while trying to get a lot of shit together. Stuff that we could have never prepared for or new would happen. Shit that happens after you take in an animal and are completely unaware that it would ever happen. I don’t owe you any explanations because you are nothing. But Because shit happens and life is a bitch we got caught in it. My animals and my family have food, flea prevention that does not kill, and their vaccinations are coming soon. And as I said before I washed it off immediately after putting it on him. I had it lying around, I wanted something to put on him for the time being until we had our first month of rent taken care of. After that ONE FUCKING THING THAT KEPT ME FROM GETTING THE GOOD STUFF, I could have waited yes but I made a bad choice. But you know what? It gives you no fucking right to say what you said. You don’t know shit about me or my life and what I can or can’t afford. Who are you to judge? You aren’t God so relieve yourself of that role. So how about you go kill yourself for being a heartless rude cunt. Kthanksbye

Amber
Please do not listen to these assholes who probably care more for a pet than their own children. Shit does happen and seemingly at the worst of times. These others posting clearly lead perfect lives, make no mistakes and have nothing else to do with themselves. Just reading this will get their blood boiling because they will know it’s true. They either are very young and ignorant or need a hobbie. I found this site because I was thinking of purchasing Hartz, and I want to thank you for posting your story. Much appreciated. Sorry for your loss.

Amber from what I gathered you used flea drops on your kitten, Hartz flea drops only come with piretroids as an active ingredient. Regardless of the brand name, piretroids are poisonous to ALL CATS, can only be given to dogs. The same happens with Advantix pipettes, ONLY TO DOGS. It should say so on the package. Sorry for your loss, just wanted to clarify this may not have been a brand problem, but the actual active substance in it. Also just wanted to tell you that even if you had taken him to the emergency vet, they could have not done much more than you did, piretroids in cats are usually fatal unless it is a very large cat, and the tretament is only symptomatic, i.e. using valium for the convulsions and atropin to stop them drolling. There wasn’t much more it could have been done. But again, it was the active substance, not the brand. Never use piretroids on your older cat, regardless of the brand, use e.g. Advantage, Flevox or Frontline. Btw, i’m a vet, not talking out of my bum.

I am terribly sorry for your loss, and the amount of rude replies you have received. Your story brought tears to my eyes, I was actually just doing research on this product because I had bought a three month pack to give to my two kittens. In a way, your story has helped me, since I do not plan to use this product now. I hope you’re okay. <3

Alcohol is toxic poison for Cats.It will kill them. I suppose this Kitty absorbed it through its Paws, as it was said alcohol was given for intent of dropping its temperature. I would have only placed a damp towel possibly. Cats are rushed & die at Vets all the time from inadvertently being given Alcohol, usually as an ingredient in oral tinctures sold on Internet. I think it is a preservative & it actually kills them. Even minute quantities. (Google it). I’m not sure about Dogs.Always Search Ingredients for Alcohol. Benzoates will kill Cats also.

Thank you for you kindness and Ines, I believe it was the pyrethrum that was the ingredient that killed him. That’s what was on the ingredients on the package and that’s what my friend who is a vet tech said it was. But the reason I say it is brand name is because hartz and others like them are allowed to put this stuff on the shelves knowing exactly what it does. It KILLS. Its not right, I don’t understand how they get away with it. But I understand its the ingredient that kills. And robin I was told by my uncle who is a vet to put alcohol on his feet and I did it with a towel. I did not mean I actually poured it on his feet. But rubbing alcohol helps lower temps and does not kill them. especially with the amount that I used and because it was only the paw pads not ingested. when I worked for my uncle we used that method all the time to lower temperatures in animals with high fevers and its never killed them. I don’t think the alcohol o used compares to the poison that was put in him.

And btw in case anyone was wondering I have Revolution that I got from my vet that I am using on my kitty who made it through with only small symptoms (he’s older though about 5yrs old) and its the only thing I will use on my animals along with frontline or Vectra.

I dont know anything about american vetinary care in terms of paying for it, but I imagine if I turned up at one with a screaming, dying pet in agony and no money – they wouldnt turn me away, they would do something. UK vets certainly would – youd have to find the money later.. Could they turm someone away in this situation if they had anything of even a tiny sense of love for animals in distress, or deceny. I dont care how much you protest about lack of money that month etc, or if you swear at this post- shows everyone just how much (toally jusifiable) guilt you have over what you did and a huge degree of immaturity as well, but that last one is irrellevant to the matter in hand). Lady, like someone else said, of course you killed this cat – firstly you put the stuff on him, then you did the bare minimum to help it whislt it suffered, extremely. accept it, anyone else would reading your horific story. unlike most, you were told how dangerous a chemical it was, yet you still put the stuff on him. What is utterly unforgivable is that you then did little more than wash him and watch him in undescribable AGONY for a very long time (before your friend tried to help), all because you didnt have any money that day. Would you do the same for your husband, or children (if you have them)? you put yourself and your finances and not the pet first. Im sure you do feel sad for the loss, but never forgive yourself for doing the very bare minimum for an animal in undescribable distress and in the death throws in front of you, due to lack of funds. Surely a friend or family member could have given you the vet money on loan, or you should have rushed to the vets anyway – im sure they would have done something more than the paltry amount you tried to do to revive a cat so ill it should have been in vetinary care immediately. im sorry the cat died, very sorry. But for you, and in your decisions on this I have no sympathy. Others who said you should have enough money in the bank to cater for emergencies were right. I hope you learn from this to put together a fund for vetinary care, or get a stand by credit card for such emergencies. By the way, I wont be reading this thread again, so anything you write back by way of vile spit and hate(like your other replies) is wasted. Get your shit in order financially or get your pets re-homed to poeple who can afford to keep them, in good times and emergency situations. Shame on you….

I’m sorry but whoever stated “just take the pet to the ER vet anyway, they’ll do something!” is wrong; they will not do anything for your pet even if he is dying in your arms unless you have money. My beautiful Riott-Dog was dying of hypocalcemia and they turned me away, even though I was crying and I begged them to do something. She died that night.

The hospital ER will take you whether or not you can pay. Many vets will not. They will let your pet die if you do not have the money. We WOULD have had it but my husband’s mother died suddenly just before that and we had to travel almost 1,000 miles across the country to the funeral. That took all of our savings.